California's Wildly Underrated Purple Sand Beach Is Just Minutes From Giant Redwoods And Hiking Trails

Red, pink, green, black — there's a rainbow of colorful beaches all around the world you'd have to see with your own eyes to believe, from Iceland to Indonesia and Australia to the Bahamas. But the Central Coast of California hides a shoreline with a shade you might never have dreamt possible till hearing it told. Deposits of manganese garnet sediment mixed with quartz run all along the surface of Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, streaks of which glow like amethyst gemstones, or even pink or blue sapphires in the right light. When seen up close, this beach is undeniably purple.

Despite its remarkable existence along one of the most incredible California spots that locals insist everyone needs to visit, it remains relatively unknown due to its lack of signage and proximity to the Pacific Coast Highway. Sitting in the shadow of cliffs laced with quartz, Pfeiffer Beach is located along a stretch where the highway curves a mile or so inland. The beach is invisible unless you turn off at the one access road that descends through Sycamore Canyon to its banks. Most who pass this way are preoccupied with heading in the opposite direction, to hike the riverside trails of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park beneath the redwoods. Who there would ever imagine that a shore with sparkling swirls of lavender, plum, and violet painted in its sands rested a mere 4 miles from their campsite?

It's been said that Big Sur's striking coastal cliffs rival those of Cinque Terre in Italy, and if you decide to stop at Pfeiffer Beach, you'll understand why. The vision of windswept cypress above, tide pools below, and migrating monarch butterflies betwixt (if you time it right) creates something of a surreal dreamscape. And while Pfeiffer's glistening purple sands are a wonder to witness at any hour or day of the year, a few specific conditions do create even more spectacular sightings.

For one thing, just as sediment on a regular beach becomes waterlogged when the tide goes out, making its sand banks squeaky and shining, Pfeiffer Beach tends to glow with richer hues after the rain or a stormy sea swell. Another unique feature of this coveted cove is the natural archway known as Keyhole Arch. Facing slightly southwest, it's subject to a particularly beautiful phenomenon from November to January when the setting sun shines directly through its opening, creating a heavenly golden light effect. Then there's the flocks of butterflies that linger in nearby trees around morning from October to January.

To visit Pfeiffer Beach at any of these times feels particularly magical. Just make sure you're prepared before you attempt a pilgrimage — the beach has no signage on Highway 1, so keep an eye out for Sycamore Canyon Road at Monterey County mile marker MON 45.64. Bring cash for the day-use lot (priced $15, as of this publication), where you can park from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Park services recommend arriving early on holiday weekends and during the summer since the lot is small and the road is too narrow to accommodate street parking.